Meant to Be
by 4love59
Summary: Ms. Parker and Jarod were meant to be together even after 5 years of being apart. Story takes place in 2006, 5 years after IOTH.
1. He's back

"Sydney," the man responded into the phone on his desk after the second ring.

"Why hello there old friend."

"Jarod," It was more of a statement than a question. "Wow, this is certainly a surprise, I haven't seen or heard from you in at least two years."

"Yea I know three years after Ms. Parker and I were on that island you all finally stopped chasing me."

"That is because you disappeared completely. I always told Raines and Ms. Parker that we were only able to find you because you let us and that if you wanted to disappear completely, you could."

"Yea, after all I can do anything I want to do or be anyone I want to be, why not invisible," the still young pretender told his mentor.

"Then you gave me one more phone call almost a year later and that was it. So why have you called again, not that I am not happy to hear from you?"

"Well it is because I just read Mr. Raines's obituary in the newspaper. I just thought I would find out how things are going at the Centre now. How is Ms. Parker, he was her father even though I can imagine they never really bonded."

"You are sure right about that. So I have to ask what have you been up to these past 3 years, you never really told me anything in our last phone call except goodbye?"

"Well, I found my family. That is why I disappeared those 3 years ago. I have been with them, finally experiencing some amount of normalcy. However, recently, I started pretending again. I felt I had to after I read certain newspaper clippings."

"You have always been one to help others," the older man admitted.

"As you taught me Syd. Anyways, I figured it would be ok since you all had pretty much finally left me alone."

"But what about now, you called me at the Centre, "they" will find out about this call and come find you."

"They who? Who is running the show now?"

"Lyle," he said simply.

"Well then, I guess the chase begins again." With that last line Jarod hung up the phone. He then looked around his apartment and at the newspaper clipping sitting on the table in front of him and thought…here we go again.

* * *

Two days after Jarod's phone call to his old friend at the Center Ms. Parker stopped unexpectedly into Sydney's office. Although technically the chase for Jarod was still on, Ms. Parker and Sydney really had not had that much reason to speak about it because of the effective standstill imposed by Jarod's absolute disappearance. While these two were still friends, there had been little reason for her to intrude upon his office without knocking as she used to frequently do as of late, until now. She walked in at about two o'clock in the afternoon with Broots on her tail and spoke to Sydney just as if the time were 5 years ago and the chase had never slowed. "So Sydney, anything you, say want to tell me." She not really asked but more commanded of Sydney.

"No, not that I can think of," the older man responded.

"What about, I don't know, a phone call?" she spoke glaring at him.

On that note Sydney looked over at Broots with an accusing face ,"Ordering Broots to listen into my phone calls again Ms. Parker?"

"Actually no."

"Well then how did you know?"

"Me," Lyle interjected while walking into Sydney's office.

"But how did you know Jarod contacted me?" he instead pointed this question towards Lyle this time.

"I have had your calls being monitored for quite a while and instructed the techs to record any calls that were from unrecognizable numbers."

"I see."

"So then," Ms. Parker interjected, "Sorry to break up this conversation but back to this phone call."

"I thought you listened to the recording," Sydney accused.

"We did but I want to hear your opinion of it, you do know Jarod the best, where do we start with this chase again."

"So after all this time we really are going to continue with this? We have not caught him yet, what makes you think that will change now?"

"I'm sure we will think of something," Lyle commented mysteriously.

* * *

A week after this conversation Jarod was in the parking lot of "his hospital" saying goodbye to one of his patients.

"Dr. Sparks how can I ever thank you for what you have done for my son and me? You saved my son's life and exposed Dr. Parks."

"Just promise that you will always love and continue to care for your son," Jarod responded.

"Sounds like you are very close to your mom?" the mother responded.

"I am now," Jarod responded with a huge grin on his face. "Goodbye Pam."

"Goodbye Doctor."

Jarod then turned back towards the hospital and walked straight up to his office. He opened his traditional red notebook and glanced once again over the articles contained within it while sitting down in his chair. After he glanced back at Joey's picture in the clipping he put the notebook along with a note in a manila envelope and sent it off in the mail.

* * *

The next day in the Centre Broots delivered a package to Ms. Parker. When she saw it, it immediately reminded her of the kind her old genus boy would send her. She refused to let herself admit it, but she had missed him. He had been her friend, her fellow searcher, and someone she actually felt connected to, not to mention her ticket to freedom. That was the reason she had been so happy, although she would let no one else know, when she had heard the recording of Sydney's call with Jarod. He was back, not only could she finally stop with the bad assignments she had had of late, Raines and Lyle had punished her for her inability to catch Jarod permanently it seemed, but now she might get to have some sort of contact with him. She amused herself to wonder whether Jarod would be calling her in the middle of night in the near future. Broots handed her the package which she opened immediately. Inside the manila folder was a red notebook that she immediately recognized as one of Jarod's, with a post-it note of the front that read, "Just a little help to get you started again."

"So who is it from," Broots asked.

"Who do you think, go call Sydney and get him in here pronto."

"Will do Ms. Parker."

Five minutes later Broots returned with Sydney and the three of them began to look over the notebook. "I feel as if no time has passed at all," Sydney stated in his usual physiatrist tone.

"What does it mean Syd? Where is he going next?"

"Your guess is as good as mine Parker, all we know is that he is up to his old pretends again, which means Broots start the tracking again."

"Will do," the younger man responded.

"And it begins," Ms. Parker stated abruptly before walking out of her office. She figured if she were going to begin this Jarod hunt again tomorrow she needed a good night's sleep… and a good drink.

Broots followed Ms. Parker out heading for his office. Sydney took one last look at the notebook and then with a quiet mutter of "Well done Jarod," he left Ms. Parker's office shutting the door behind him.

I cannot believe that this is happening again Parker said to herself. After five years he is back. With that thought her phone rang. "Bet I know who that is," she said with a smirk………..


	2. Memory Lane

"What?"

"Hello old friend," Jarod said to Ms. Parker.

"Jarod, I should have known."

"I think you knew," he responded softly.

Oh crap she thought to herself, he knew I was thinking about him. He knew! Ok just move on she told herself and then spoke, "So why are you calling me?"

"Can't an old friend just call and say hi?"

"I guess, I just wouldn't expect you to. That is not really the way our conversations have worked in the past."

"Dictating rules again Ms. Parker?" She twitched at his bitter reference to that time in the limo at the airfield but chose to overlook it.

"You obviously are aware I found out about your phone call to Sydney and know that you are back pretending, and yes I got your package today. So you calling to continue our game, maybe taunt me some about how I will never catch you, or have you uncovered another piece to my past you want to share with me while you uncovered yours?"

"We pretty much uncovered yours on the Island, you do remember the Island don't you?" Trying to force her back there for the second time in this short conversation. This time she had no choice but to oblige.

"Yes, as I recall they have some great tea there, and oh yea the graves of my family killed by my grandfather." She gave him one there with the tea reference, and had to smile a bit a the memory. She really cared for him, and refused to admit it, but knew she still did. She just couldn't be with him as he had asked of her or let him see that secretly she longed for nothing else. It just wasn't possible. She had hoped he understood, and thought he did, he was a smart guy after all.

"That tea wasn't bad at all was it?" With that he hung up the phone and left her to think about the tea shop and Ocee, what had almost happened between she and Jarod there and then once again about the rules she had forced upon him in the limo. "Wow the history we have Jarod," she said aloud to herself.

Many miles away he was thinking about the same time on the Island, forcing himself to reconsider if calling her tonight had been the right choice. He had not spoken to her after that last phone call when he got away from his captors and the Island, and he without a doubt remembered every detail of the conversation where she had rejected him. "Why had I put myself out there to someone so heartless," he said to himself, "Oh yea, because she really is not heartless she is just stuck behind this image she puts up, and refused to break it for me. I thought I could make her do it. So what now, go on like before the Island, or continue to ignore both her and his feelings for her as he had done for the past five years, and see what happens this time, who knows, five years later she might have changed. I doubt it, I still know her better I bet than most, sometimes even herself." His mind was working a mile a minute there in that little apartment. If he were honest with himself, she had broken one of the still full parts of his heart that day, the part she alone occupied, from the time he met her those many years ago in the Centre, to their time on the Island. What proved to be more important however, was the she abolished one of his greatest hopes, finding someone to love who would love him back. He thought he had found that in her, but had been wrong he decided, this is what drove him to finally give that extra push in his search that eventually led him to his family. If one of his goals didn't happen, he was going to make damn sure the other one did. With those thoughts he fell asleep and despite his conscious desire to forget her, dreamt of Ms. Parker and what he could only dream the future might hold. All too soon he was woken the next morning by his alarm clock. Oh well, he thought, then with a smirk on his face said, "Time to go to work."….

Note: This is my first fanfic so I hope you all like it and I will update it the best I can. Also in my hurry to post I forgot to have Ms. Parker answer "What?" so thank you to AJeff who unintentionally reminded me to add it in his/her review.


	3. Dr Parker

Jarod entered the office promptly at 8 am and went straight to the receptionist's desk. "Good morning," he said, "my name is Jarod…"

"Oh right!" She said hurriedly, Jarod could already tell this was a very busy morning by all the people in the waiting room. "Come right this way please, Dr. Rich is waiting for you. Follow me please." He followed her across the waiting room and into one of the three doors. "Doctor, he is here," she called from outside of the door to the woman waiting inside.

"Ok, thank you very much. Good morning Dr. Parker."

"Oh please call me Jarod." He then smirked at his new name, Jarod Parker.

"My name is Melinda, please sit down. So you are our new counselor here?"

"Yes, indeed I am."

"You will be taking the office to the left of this one."

"The one that was previously Dr. Lock's?" Jarod questioned.

"Yes," Melinda replied sadly. "We miss her very much around here, did you know her?"

"No, I just moved into this area, but I heard about what happened. Do the police know anything yet?" The pretender questioned of his new co-worker.

"Not that I know of, apparently there was not a lot of evidence. Well I have an 8:30 appointment that I must prepare for and I believe you have a 9:00 so what do you say we separate for now and continue this later."

"Sounds great, have a nice day doctor," Jarod called behind his shoulder as he left the office.

Jarod walked into the office on the left and looked around. Seems like an ordinary office he thought to himself. He even has the stock psychiatrist plant in the corner. He sat down in the chair behind his new desk and took out one of his red notebooks. He opened it and began re-reading the newspaper clipping titled "Marriage Counselor Dr. Marie Lock murdered, police investigate."

* * *

One hour later Jarod hears a knock on his office door. It is the receptionist telling him that his first clients are here. "Send them in," he calls. Once they enter, he ventures, "Good morning and welcome to Robertson and Copley Counseling. My name is Dr. Jarod Parker."

"Doctor huh? What are you a doctor of?" Mr. Miller asked.

"Psychiatry," Jarod responded simply.

"So you are not a real doctor then."

"That is enough Howard, we are here to work on our marriage, not to criticize the man that is going to help us."

"Yea, help us for $150 dollars an hour!"

"Mr. Miller, I understand your hesitations here, believe me when this idea first came to me I thought it was shaky, but the more I read up on it, the more I decided there was something to it. Love is hard, I know, I am the poster child for relationship complications, but because I have survived all of those I believe that I really can help you."

"Dr. Parker, is there a Mrs. Parker?" Mrs. Miller asked with a smile while sitting down on the coach in Jarod's office.

"Well there is a Ms. Parker, but she is not my wife." Jarod responded with a sad tone in his voice that Mrs. Miller saw but choice to ignore. She could tell that this man had been through a lot.

"So what brings you two here today?" Jarod asked brushing off his thoughts of the other adult Parker.

"Mrs. Miller started, "I feel like we are drifting away from one another. He barely ever talks to me and I cannot even remember the last time he touched me." Jarod felt slightly uncomfortable with where this conversation seemed to be headed. While he had definitely had experience in this area since escaping the Centre it was still a very uncomfortable topic for him. He thought his brief stint as a gigolo would have helped.

"Mr.Miller what do you think…."

* * *

Jarod waited that night to go "home," wherever that was, until after everyone else had. Around 9:30 he began to wonder if Melinda would ever go home. Around 10:00 she poked her head into Jarod's office and wished him a goodnight. "It is your first day and you are still here, wow you must be trying to be the employee of the month?" 

"No, I just want to make sure I am always on top of everything?"

"No family at home waiting for you Jarod?"

"Unfortunately no," he really didn't feel like getting into the whole story, or at least what he could tell of it, he had work to do. "What about you?" He thought he should ask to simply out of politeness.

"Yes, I have a husband, but he works late as well so luckily it is really not a problem. Well, goodnight."

"Goodnight," he responded kindly. He waited about ten minutes after he heard the front door of the office shut, then went out of his office and casually walked over to the receptionist area. He found the key to the file cabinet in the desk drawer and unlocked it. He began to thumb through the files until he found some of them with Dr. Lock's name. He spent an hour looking through them before he found something "interesting." In the file labeled "Banks," he found that Dr. Lock had been doing private sessions with both the husband and the wife. This was a common practice that he had read about and had come highly recommended in the books Jarod had read. The strange part was that there were no notes to cover all of the meetings between Dr. Lock and Mr. Banks. Jarod photocopied the file on the office's Xerox machine, then put everything back the way it was and headed for his apartment. Once there he opened his silver case and pressed play. A younger Jarod popped up on the screen and he could see himself talking with a younger version of Sydney.

"Sydney, what happens when a married couple don't love each other anymore?"

"Well Jarod, that is a hard question. Sometimes they get divorced or sometimes they just stay together and suffer through it."

"But what if when they are married they find someone else to love?"

"Ummm, that can lead to divorce or possibly an affair."

"An affair?" With that question, the screen went black.

* * *

(Three days later) 

"So you murdered her because she threatened to tell your wife about your affair with Dr. Lock!"

"No, no, I wouldn't. Just put the gun down Dr. Parker, please."

"Why, you didn't put the gun down when it was pointed at your mistress."

"Ok, ok I did it! Just put the gun down." With that Jarod put the unloaded, yet imposing article down and opened one of the other office doors revealing a shocked and horrified Dr. Melinda Rich. She had known Mr. Banks, and never thought he could do anything like this. About ten seconds later policemen walked into the room followed by Ms. Parker, Sydney, and Broots. Luckily, however Jarod had seen one of the Centre's black sedans park outside the building and expected her presence. The second the police came into the room Jarod ducked back into his office and immediately out the window and down the fire escape. He had not expected her this soon, so it was good he had already prepared his escape route. Although, who was he kidding, he always knew a second way out of every single building he ever entered. When Ms. Parker entered the room she only saw the drama unfolding there and Mr. Banks being put in handcuffs but no Jarod. She had missed him by only a couple of seconds and knew it from the current situation that had just unfolded in the office. She pushed past Sydney into the hall and told Sam and the other sweeper with him to find Jarod because he had to be close. Even as she saw him running off she knew they would not find him, they never did.

* * *

At about 11:00 that night she was sipping vodka on her couch when her phone rang. She knew who it was and picked up the phone after it rang a couple of times and answered it once again with the normal "What?" 


	4. Need

"You know Ms. Parker, people really don't like to hear "what?" when the phone is picked up." It was her pretender! When she had just missed him this time she was slightly afraid that would be the last time she saw him now that she knows he can totally disappear if he wants. But he really was back and now calling her, her pretender really was back. Wait she thought, the Centre's pretender, yea that is right the Centre's pretender. "Hello… Ms. Parker?"

"Well that is too bad, what would you rather I answer, why hello there Jarod how are you this evening?"

"That might be nice, imagine a completely pleasant conversation."

"Most of our conversations are generally present. I mean, not the ones when you are teasing me, but the ones after I have missed you or have just found out some tragic piece of information about my family."

"True. But what if the conversation didn't have to be that way. I always call to help you, but might it never branch out from there. Instead of me just calling to make sure you are alright, which you hardly ever are, or to taunt you, what if we could just talk?"

"There you go again with the 'what ifs!' We already covered them and they can't happen.

"Really? Even though things have changed this dramatically since then, well I am sorry to hear that. Have a nice life Ms. Parker."

Jarod was about to hang up when he heard, "Wait no Jarod!"

"What?" Jarod said with little kindness in his voice.

"You are going to disappear again aren't you?" Ms. Parker responded utterly terrified. Why she quickly thought to herself. I can get out now with Daddy and Raines gone, I don't need Jarod. But wait, yes I do, just not to save me from the Centre, just to save me from…my life. This thought immediately scared her beyond belief. All she knew was that she could not lose Jarod, but she could also not admit this to him.

After a brief pause on his end as well he responded, "From the Centre I was planning to." He couldn't help but think along the same lines that she had been. She doesn't need him to be free from the Centre anymore and this will have been the 3rd time he asked her for "something more" and believe me, he thought, it will be the last, so her wanting him definitely wasn't why she did not want to see him go. He is the prize, she wants to win and be commended, yea that must be it.

She interrupted his thoughts with, "Me too then, you were going to disappear and leave me here behind again weren't you?"

"Leave you behind! What the hell do you mean? You were never locked up, you were never forced to do things! You had a life, you left me behind all those years ago!"

"You think I was free, well you are damn wrong. And you think I wanted to leave you behind. Even though I didn't want to, I always saw your anguish, your pain. It killed me to leave you, my only true, honest friend!"

This made him stop and think for a moment. She obviously cared, but if so why did she keep pushing him away, he understood before and even was able to forgive her for it, but not now. He had to continue what had become a screaming match to learn more. "Then why did you?"

"Jarod, you know I had no choice, I was a slave just like you!"

"NO! Not like me, you got to live, to experience, I got to be experimented upon. And now these last years you have been trying to bring me back to this place that supposedly enslaved you too. Why then? Have you no heart?"

"No! I do have a heart, that is the point! I have to get out of there so I can live and breathe!"

"I am just your ticket?" he responded furiously.

"Well you used to be, although all the times I thought about it I never actually imagined returning you. I don't honestly think I could have done it."

With that the screaming stopped. Jarod continued the conversation, now in a much calmer tone, "Well that makes me feel much better."

"But that all doesn't matter now, you are going to leave me behind again," she said very sadly.

"I still think you have no reason to be mad at me for leaving you what you call behind. You don't need me anymore, you can leave the Centre now, your beloved Daddy is dead, as is Raines. There is nothing holding you there anymore, Lyle could not do that."

"But what else would I have Jarod. The Centre is all I have known, almost everyone I have ever…cared about, anyone who has ever cared about me is gone. And now you are going to leave me."

"What does that matter though. You always treat me as if I mean nothing to you. All those times I have…been there… you knew I…was there. You always brushed me off, even earlier in this conversation if I remember correctly. I just don't understand what you want from me Parker!"

"Jarod I don't even know that. I just want…I just need…someone…okay damnit Jarod I need you! Are you happy now you jerk, I need you!"

"You are insane, now you need me, what about before?"

"Have you met me, man you are supposed to be smart. You think I can just admit something like that!"

"So what now Ms. Parker?"

"I don't know Jarod, I just don't know."

"I do." With that simple response he hung up. Her tears that had been streaming down her face for the second half of the conversation were beginning to come more forcefully when she heard a knock on the door….

This knock at the door startled her, but really she knew who it had to be. She approached her front door and pulled her gun off the table near the door on her way. When she opened the door she saw him, saw him standing there in front of her still with the long hair that she had to admit she liked, in his normal leather jacket. He saw the gun in her hand but also saw that she could not bring herself to point it at him. They just stood there for what seemed like forever starring at each other completely entrapped looking at each other. Finally, he walked up to her and wiped away the tears flowing from her eyes. This action startled her and she brushed him off and then turned and retreated into the house. She made no gesture to close the door or lock him out, rather left the door ajar for him…an invitation. He walked through and shut the door gently then proceeded to her living room where he saw her disappear into. He stood in the entryway into the room just looking at her sitting on the couch. She was still clutching her gun. Although they both knew it was not a threat or would be used, he still understood the security and sense of control the weapon gave her.

"So are you going to say anything?" he asked her quietly.

"Well I wasn't really expecting this or for you to be this close. As a matter of fact what were you doing outside of my house?"

He put his head down. He simply could not look at her while he admitted this. "I just wanted to see you one more time before I left."

"So you really were going to leave me here all alone."

"You never really gave me a choice!"

"Look, you know I need you. Like I said on the Island in front of the fire, 'you are the person that I have been trained to distrust, to hate yet you are always there at the most difficult times in my life." He noticed she messed up the quote a bit, but was not going to bring that up at a moment like this. He got the point, but still needed clarification.

"So you want me to stay here, revolve my life around you so that I can help you when you need it but have you push me away, chase me, and more or less fight me for most of the time?"

"No." She responded simply standing up. "I want you to be here with me. Jarod, I thought I was going to lose you forever tonight and it made me realize something. You are the only person in my life right now that…" she had to pause for a moment to think about what to say next, "deeply means something to me, that has been there for me, honestly Jarod, that is actually close to me."

He cut her off, "so now that I am what is left you want me!"

"No, no Jarod." She started crying harder now, "look you must know how hard this is for me. Please don't leave me. It is not that you are the only one left that had me stop you, it is that now that you are the only one left and I thought I was going to loose you, I realized that I love you, I always have, and that loosing you would be the worst loss since my mother. When I thought I lost you five years ago, a deep part of me died, and now that you have come back…I just can't do that again. You left me because I didn't admit how much you meant to me. Until now I wanted to blame you, but now I see it was my fault. Please don't go, I need you, I love you, and I hope you feel the same?" She whispered with the last amount of strength she could muster. This was it, she was either about to live or die based on his response. She couldn't breathe.

He walked towards her and only stopped when they were less than a foot apart. I have always cared…always loved you, you must have known that." With that he closed the remaining distance between them and kissed her lovingly, softly yet passionately. When they separated a few moments later he just rapped his arms around her and stood there with her in his arms. They both could feel how they just fit together. They were two halves that were clearly supposed to be this way, like when one hugs a loving parent or that perfect someone; only a person one has a deep, deep connection to. He gently kissed the top of her head then separated them so he could look at her. Her face seemed like its old self. She no longer wanted to be crying, rather she wanted to be happy yet her strong self. But just then a thought occurred to her, what if he is only with me out of pity for poor pathetic Parker…or worse to use her. She pulled away from him.

He could tell something was on her mind, "what is wrong Parker," he said with a very worried tone.

Promise me first that you have not just said and done that because you pity me, because if that is the case go away. I did not say those things to get your pity, I said them because you needed to hear how I actually felt, and it was one of the hardest moments of my life.

"No! How could you think that? When I have always been here for you, always cared, always helped, and then on the Island tried to ask you to choose a different path for the two of us?"

"Are you just with me right now then saying this stuff to protect yourself, so that I don't call sweepers, like you could have just said those things in the limo to free yourself?" she took a few steps back from him as she said this.

This hurt him deeply. "Do you really think that I would do that, that I could do that?"

"You are a Pretender, you can do anything you want," with a smart-ass look about her.

With that last comment he just walked right up to her and kissed her deeply. He ran her fingers through her hair than rapped his arms around her back. When he finally released her he looked into her eyes and said, "Not even I am that good."

With that comment she smiled and felt truly happy for the first time in a long time. He was here with her at last. She had always known he was supposed to be, she could just never let him because of the circumstances. She was so relieved that she no longer had to push him away and that he was still there, ready to love her. Meanwhile, he could not help but feel content with his attachment to her. Nothing with Ms. Parker would be easy he knew, but now that he knew she loved him too, he would try forever to keep it that way.

Note to Readers: Hi guys! I hope you are enjoying the story so far. Due to a vacation I will unfortunately not be able to update this story again for about 3 weeks. I didn't want you all to think I abandoned you, that is if you do want more of the story? I will think about the story on my vacation and will have a great update when I get back.


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